Wheeling, W. Va- One could sense the intensity of this game brewing before the opening tip-off, and as the game went on, it would prove to be the case. The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (11-10), (6-7) went bucket-for-bucket with one of the Mountain East Conference's (MEC) best offensive units, the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats. No team led more than five points at a time as each basket was fought for and contested. However, the Cardinals were unable to finish strong in overtime as they fell 60-59. Kenzie Dalton finished the night with a game-high 26 points and made nine shots from the field.
Wesleyan picked up the first three points of the match, but Emilia Sierra Lacosta recorded the first points on the Cardinals' side of the scoreboard with a tip-in just past the seven-minute mark of the first. Following two points from the Bobcats, Kenzie Dalton nailed a shot from a distance to knot the score at five a minute and a half later. Dalton tied it up again at seven when she hit a jumper after the first media timeout of the contest. Wesleyan added four quick points for an 11-7 lead, but Dalton was fouled while in the act of shooting and not only did she hit the shot, but she made the three-point play to tie it once more, this time 11 a side. The Bobcats would hit on a jumper with six seconds remaining as they went up by two to end the first quarter, 13-11.
It took quite a bit of time before the first points of the new quarter were scored because of solid defense from both sides. Wesleyan went to the line to add the first two points of the second and then put up another two with a field goal. At the 6:11 mark, Elena Marin Dawid drove into the paint for a jump shot, and Emma Reynolds knocked down a three-pointer 40 seconds later to go down by one, 17-16. The Bobcats scored twice to put themselves back up by five, but the media timeout gave the Cardinals time to regroup and to work it back to a tie game after Dalton made another successful three-point play. Wesleyan was awarded two shots at the line after a foul was called right before the buzzer sounded, so the Bobcats were able to take a 25-23 lead into the locker room.
Despite WVWC opening the half with a jump shot, Wheeling was determined to send a message to the other side and to the league by the end of the third quarter, outscoring their opposition 18-11. Reynolds tipped in a shot in the paint, and Dalton was credited with a fastbreak layup after Dawid stole the ball and fed it to her to make it 27 on each side with under nine minutes left. Reynolds' free throws made it a 29-29 game three and a half minutes later. Then, Lacosta put her squad ahead with two shots at the line and a three-ball. Dalton stretched the lead to five after Wesleyan turned it over, and Wheeling was now ahead 36-31 with 1:45 remaining in the third. The Bobcats made their only successful three-pointer to cut into the lead, but Lacosta responded quickly with a shot of her own from behind the arc. Wesleyan's free throws added two points to their side, but Lacosta, once again, made it a two-possession game with a layup, and the Cardinals found themselves with a 41-36 lead heading into the final quarter of regulation.
The Bobcats did not take long to make it a one-point game after back-to-back field goals in the paint. However, Reynolds drove herself into the paint to answer back. Wesleyan would go on a 6-0 run over the course of roughly two minutes and 20 seconds before Dalton's tip in gave Wheeling a brief 46-45 advantage at the 5:42 mark of the fourth. The Bobcats went on another 6-1 run to give them a 50-46 lead with four minutes left. As time ticked down, Lacosta drilled a shot from range with 1:42 remaining, which sparked a 6-0 run for the Cardinals, and after 40 minutes of play, nothing had been decided, and overtime would need to decide the winner of this contest, tied at 52 a side.
WVWC netted the first field goal of the quarter once more, but Graci Fairman got loose in the paint and made it even again. The Bobcats got two more points, so the Cardinals added two to their side in the form of Dalton getting the bucket and the foul, which put them ahead 57-56 with 3:11 remaining in the overtime period. Wesleyan's layup put them up by one, but Dalton's two shots at the line gave Wheeling the lead once more, 59-58 with two and a half left. Unfortunately, Wesleyan made another jump shot, and Wheeling was unable to respond, meaning that the Cardinals had come up short to the Bobcats by a final score of 60-59.
Kenzie Dalton finished the night making just under 53% of her shots from the field and hitting 7-8 free throws for 26 points while also contributing five assists and five steals. Emilia Sierra Lacosta ended with 15 points and six rebounds, and Emma Reynolds recorded 12 points and seven boards.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, when they travel to take on the Davis & Elkins Senators at 2pm.
